Yamashita Shorin Ryu

This is my final review of this school. After further review, I find this school to be as good as any dojo in the area. This dojo is part of the three dojos that are under the guidance of Mr. Tadashi Yamashita and the supervision of Mr. Lloyd Knight. The three dojos have a check and balance system and if one dojo has a problem with kata, bunkai or any other issues they are always being guided and corrected by Mr.Yamashita or Mr. Kight. It is a very tight group and a very family oriented type of school. Mr. Yamashita and Mr. Knight make sure that the system is not watered down and always stay true to the teaching of Shorin Ryu. I was wrong in my first assessment of this dojo and I retract my first initial findings. I advice everyone to visit and take advantage of their free training offer and see if this dojo is for you. You can also visit www.goyamashitakarate.com and find more information about their dojos. Thank you for reading my review and good day. :new_scatt

Shorinkan Dojo

First- the school is no longer a part of the Yamashita System and does not have any direct lineage to the Yamashita System, Hanshi Yamashita or Kyoshi Knight.

The System that Hanshi has developed and perfected and carried on by masters such as Kyoshi Knight is in my opinion, one of the best Karate Systems in the nation. With that said, things change and dojo's eventually find their stride- this dojo is no longer yamashitafv (for French Valley where it is located) but is now shorinkandojo.com. Both URLs will take you to the same location.

The school is now a part of the Shorinkan system under Hanshi Judan Nakazato. The school has yet to include the entire Shorinkan System. The Shorinkan System has many more kata than the Yamashita system, but less Bunkai's than the Yamashita system. Hanshi Yamashita has developed many excellent fight sequences and complex Bunkai's- the Shorinkan System has many more complex kata and includes more weapons kata and elements of Jui-Jitsu, where Yamashita does not.

The school is very young and very energetic. It has passed only three black belts (brown under the Yamashita system) since joining the Shorinkan system and is still in the maturation stage of the Shorinkan System.

The Shorinkan System under the guidance of Kyoshi Noujaim is dilligently and strictly controlled. The system works to stay exact to the form and function of it's Okinawan counterparts. With any martial arts system, you take from what it what you are willing to put into it.

I recommend this school to anyone who is interested in Martial Arts. It may not be the school for those who are looking for a more physically aggressive system though.